Stupid Question # 724

Road Cycling“It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them. Thus you remember them as they actually are, while in a motor car only a high hill impresses you, and you have no such accurate remembrance of country you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle.” -- Ernest Hemingway

Tights over your riding shorts? I am in socal and have been mulling the idea of tights or leg warmers ( it does get cold in the mornings). Pearl Izumi makes some with the pad in them but they are fleece lined and I think would get too warm. Thoughts?

Tights over your riding shorts? I am in socal and have been mulling the idea of tights or leg warmers ( it does get cold in the mornings). Pearl Izumi makes some with the pad in them but they are fleece lined and I think would get too warm. Thoughts?

Go with the PI Leg warmer and wear them UNDER your shorts. With the leg warmers, you can always take them off mid-ride if it gets too warm. I've been using mine almost daily for the last month and a half. I'm in Orange County, but most of my riding is between 6:00 - 8:00am, before it warms up.

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I wear un-padded PI fleece over my bibs. No problems. You can take 'em off without too much difficulty. Though of course you'll actually have to stop and get off the bike; can't just slip them down around your ankles like legwarmers. I've never felt the need to take them off though. Plus the un-padded models could be useful for other activities such as jogging or XC skiing, I suppose.

Tights over your riding shorts? I am in socal and have been mulling the idea of tights or leg warmers ( it does get cold in the mornings). Pearl Izumi makes some with the pad in them but they are fleece lined and I think would get too warm. Thoughts?

Trust me, if you rode this morning prior to 7AM in San Diego near the coast you wouldn't be saying you would get too warm. It had to be in the 30s this morning. I ride to work about once or twice a week (10 miles one way) and I wear fleece lined leg warmers and they are perfect. Personally, I'd rather have the fleece go all the way up to my waist because I can actually feel the cold air on my mid section. A short sleeve jersey w/arm warmers and a vest is actually not enough right now. I need to add a layer to it I think if I want to keep commuting through the next month or so.

Luckily, my son gave me a pair of Nashbar gel tights for my birthday. They're uninsulated, but the covering over the legs makes a big difference when it's cold of a Pasadena morn, and never gets too warm when the temperatures climb at midday. To be clear, these have a built-in chamois, and are quite comfortable. And they're cheap, too--less than $40.00

Just put em on under your shorts. Looks better that way and they dont crawl down your legs, no chafing.

I've tried it both ways and this way seems to work best for me as well. When I wear them over my shorts the tights seem to "sag" around the crotch causing space between my shorts and the tights. That said leg warmers work great too and can easily be pulled down or up as needed!